Improvement in safety nipple foe fbe-aems



W. N. ROWE.

Pater lt ed Jan. 1, 1867.

HPETERS Pnormumoummsn. WASHINGTON, 11C.

WILLIAM N. ROWE, OF WASHINGTON; DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

' Letters Patent No. 60,791, dated January 1, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN SAFETY NIPPLE FOR FIRE-ARMS.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM N. ROWE, of the city and county of Washington, and District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Fire-Arms; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a view of a fire-arm with my invention attached or connected therewith.

Figure 2 represents a longitudinal section through the same.

Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 represent detached views of portions of the arm which will be hereafter referred-to.

Similar letters of reference, where they occur in the several separate figures, denote like parts in all the drawings.

Many devices have been essayed to prevent the accidental discharge of fire-arms; such as moving the capped .nipple to one side and out of the line of blow of the hammer. Other devices have been made to lock the hammer under certain conditions, when it is not desirable to discharge the arm; and in other cases a guard has been thrown in to receive the blow of the hammer and prevent it from striking the cap. In all cases the object was to prevent the hammer from exploding the cap. This Ido not attempt to prevent. On the contrary, I allow the hammer to fall upon and to explode the cap. But. my invention consists in a means of preventing the fire from the cap from reaching the powder in the nipple or in the arm, and thus preventing an accidental discharge of the arm, though there may be an accidental discharge of the cap, which would be harmless.

' To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawing. a represents an ordinary nipple, such as are used for holding a cap, but of a size considerably smaller than the cap that is to beused with the arm. The nipple may have the hole that communicates with the bore of the gun or arm centrally bored through it, though I have shown it in the drawings as bored at one side of the centre, as in figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6. Over this inner nipple, a, I place an outer nipple, shield, guard, cylinder, (or by whatever name it may be termed,) c, which has a small projection, e, attached to it, that moves through a slot, f; and in the top of this nipple, shield, guard, or cylinder, there is an opening which, when moved in one di-rection to a defined point, communicates with the opening through the inner nipple, and when turned in an opposite direction cuts ofi said communication, and closes orseals the opening in the inner nipple and-the charge of powder; and over this outer nipple, shield, or whatver it may be termed, the cap" (in red lines) is placed. When the outer nipple, shield, or cylinder 0 is turned, as shown in fig. 3, its hole 2' not being opposite the opening through the inner nipple, (said opening being shown by dotted lines,) the cap may be placed thereon and the hammer let fly and explode the cap without communicating the fire to the powder. But when the outer nipple or cylinder is turned, as in fig. 4, and the two openings come in line, then the exploding of the cap will discharge the arm. To make the arm perfectly safe against accidental discharge of the load, the shield or cylinder e is turned half around, or .thereabouts, and in that condition the cap may be exploded without firing the charge in the arm. When it is to be discharged, the cylinder or guard is turned in an opposite direction, it thus acting as a cut-ofi', and closing or disclosing the opening through the nipple or the charge of powder therein.

Having thus fully described the nature, object, and purpose of my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In combination with the nipple of a fire-arm, a cylinder, shield, or cap, that can turn thereon, and having an opening through it that in one ofits positions closes, and in its other position discloses, the opening through I or thepowder in the nipple, and so that a cap may be exploded upon it in its closed position without firing the charge in the arm, and fire it in its other disclosed position, substantially as described.

WM. N. ROWE.

Witnesses:

A. B. Sroucnron, EnM. F. Brown. 

